Improve exam registration and NPS for tax professionals online

The Chartered Institute of Taxation

In order to offer the best service to their members and stakeholders, The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) wanted to build an online experience based on their users' needs and create a sense of purpose and endeavour amongst its members. As the Lead Experience Designer on the project it was my role to both research CIOT's many users and design a solution that met their goals.

RoleLead Experience Designer
IndustryProfessional Body & Tax Education
TeamCIOT Senior Stakeholders, PM, Developers & Junior Designer
TimelineNovember 2018 - November 2019

Upward view of escalators inside Canary Wharf underground station's glass-ribbed roof

The challenge

As Lead Experience Designer, my role was to research and document the needs and pain points of CIOT's many users - students, members and employers - presenting findings back to both the project team and senior CIOT stakeholders, then designing a solution that delivered against that research while meeting CIOT's own objectives. With CIOT starting their rebrand at the time, visual design work was deliberately ring fenced for a later point allowing us to focus on flows and wireframed prototypes rather than creating polished UI and content which could change.

Analytics, Hotjar heatmaps and exit polls, a UX review of CIOT's various portals, and over 20 interviews with members and students showed that basic tasks and navigation were hard to achieve - driving frequent calls to CIOT's in-house support team - while students felt unsupported through certification and many members felt disconnected from the organisation altogether.

Two tablets displaying the CIOT homepage and course exam page on a dark blue background

Redesigning the CIOT experience

Understand exam requirements

The challenge
Prospective and current students found it difficult to access basic exam information and choose the appropriate modules based on their previous qualifications - not helped by exam information being spread across different portals.

The solution
Basic exam information such as duration and required modules was summarised on a single page supported by iconography, with accordions to avoid overloading users and CTAs surfacing more detail for those who wanted it. Students needing to understand which exemptions applied to them could simply select their current qualifications from a drop-down list, rather than hunt through tabled information and PDFs.

CTA exam course page showing module selection, fees, deadlines and registration schedule

Exemptions tool showing which exam papers a student needs based on their prior qualification

Exam information summarised on one page, with exemptions and chosen modules displayed in accordion menus

Continually support users

The challenge
Interviewing a wide range of CIOT stakeholders and consolidating findings into an experience map made it clear that users had very different needs depending on their role and experience, with specific friction points arising when those needs weren't being met.

The solution
A calendar and notifications feature gave students and members time-based alerts for common tasks such as exam registration and event reminders, with account navigation providing quick links to relevant events and content. A central exam planner replaced the previous scattered setup, giving contextual information and links for students confirming results - and for employers monitoring students studying for the CTA certification.

Tablets showing the calendar and notifications overlay and account navigation with progress planner and preferred branch events

Exam planner showing modules taken, scores, grades and an expired paper warning with a re-apply option

Employer view listing students' exam progress and pass/fail status across each qualification module

Calendar, notifications and a central exam planner consolidated within the one portal

Engage & inspire

The challenge
Members and students alike felt no affinity with CIOT, viewing the organisation as simply a qualification provider - leaving little incentive to stay engaged once exams were done.

The solution
Content and imagery that engaged and humanised the world of taxation began to re-address that balance, including a decision-tree and contextual content that put CIOT in the driving seat for prospective students. New branch event pages and a dedicated top-level navigation section for CIOT's wider work also began to inspire current members beyond the exam relationship.

Redesigned CIOT homepage 'Making Tax Better' with leading articles, resources and webinars

Four mobile screens showing the responsive homepage, exam planner, module selector and a multi-step form

Content, imagery and event pages built to humanise CIOT beyond the exam relationship

Two mobile phones showing the CIOT homepage and exam planner with an expired paper warning

Results

By supporting an extensive period of research, CIOT had to adjust their own objectives to meet their users' needs. Original ideas such as promoting the organisation's heritage were sidelined in favour of facilitating immediate day-to-day user needs and building relationships that, in the long run, would secure CIOT's relevance amongst its members.

19 %
Decrease in support calls
35 %
Increase in online bookings
81
Net Promoter Score

What I learned

Resetting the Narrative
Raw research doesn't shift stakeholder thinking on its own - it needs shaping into a story people can act on. I turned dozens of interviews, heatmaps and exit polls into a clear, evidence-led narrative that put real user frustration front and centre, which is what actually moved CIOT away from their original brief. Landing that across siloed, internally-focused departments took as much interpersonal skill as research skill - presenting findings back through workshops and stakeholder sessions that brought each department round to a shared direction.